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11 Works 244 Members 1 Review

About the Author

Derek Sayer is professor of cultural history at Lancaster University and a former Canada Research Chair at the University of Alberta. His previous book include: The Coasts of Bohemia. A Czech History (Princeton) and Capitalism and Modernity. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Works by Derek Sayer

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1950-12-03
Gender
male

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The title of this book is a quote from Shakespeare: "Thou art perfect then our ship hath touched upon the deserts of Bohemia?" ('The Winter's Tale'. Act 3, scene 3). No, he didn't know where Bohemia was, and didn't much care. 350 years later, a British politician referred to Czechoslovakia as "a far-away country of which we know little". A shame, as we ended up going to war partially on its behalf.

This book takes a specific look at Bohemia, which together with Moravia now forms the Czech Republic. Along the way, we learn a lot more about the country that I grew up thinking of as "Czechoslovakia". This book deals with the whole history of that land, through its independence, to its incorporation into the Austro-Hungarian Empire and ends with the absorbtion of Czechoslovakia into the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II - thus treating the Velvet Revolution of 1989 (which is mentioned in passing) as a wholly new page of history that is still being written.… (more)
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RobertDay | Sep 8, 2008 |

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Works
11
Members
244
Popularity
#93,239
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1
ISBNs
34
Languages
1

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